


Carry On

by Angelwithwingsoffire



Series: 30 Days of Writing [13]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Character Death before story begins, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-14
Updated: 2015-02-14
Packaged: 2018-03-12 07:24:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3348608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelwithwingsoffire/pseuds/Angelwithwingsoffire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It isn't often that people's lives are dramatically changed. Marriage, childbirth, death of a loved one. The first two are happy. The third is not. And, unfortunately, this is the story of what happens after the third one tears a man away from his family forever and how they must carry on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Carry On

**Author's Note:**

> The major character death happens before the story begins but I wanted to tag it just to be safe.

“How is he?” Scott whispered to Cora. They were standing outside on the balcony of the loft, both pulling their fearing in so they didn’t have to hear the shuddering breaths of their packmate in the loft’s second floor.

“It’s horrible.” Cora whispered. “It’s the worst pain you can possible imagine, losing your mate.”

“Didn’t you once say it was like losing a limb?” Scott asked.

Cora shook her head. “I once told Stiles that losing a packmate is like losing a limb. But losing your mate, the one you’re connected to in mind, body, and spirit, it’s worse. If you asked him how it felt he’d tell you to imagine each one of your finger and toe nails being slowly torn off. And then someone talking a knife and cutting off the first knuckles of your fingers. And then another. And another. And then taking slices of your hand until they get down to the wrists before binding them tight so you couldn’t bleed out before they were finished. And then they would work their way down your feet, cutting off piece after piece after piece until it’s all gone before binding there as well. Now you can’t run, you can’t attack them, you can’t even pass out because they keep forcing you back to consciousness. But now they’ve had their fun so they just end it now, cutting into your chest and yanking your heart out, still partially attached, so you can see it beating in the palm of their hand before they wrench it free and you die. Except you don’t die. You keep living without your heart beating inside your chest because there’s no reason for it to keep beating but you know you have to keep trying to start it back up, to take another breath, to keep living because that’s what they would want. And you’ve never denied them anything that they wanted.”

Scott looked at Cora. “You speak like you know.”

Cora snorted. “I do.”

“Who was it?”

Cora bit her lip, staring over the ledge at the ground below. “A wolf in Brazil. That’s why I left after the Alpha Pack. And why Derek went with me. He wanted to meet him.”

“Tell me about him.”

Cora smiled a little, moving her gaze up to the stars above them. “His name was Jack. He moved with his family from England when he was ten because his parents were archeologists and they got a job at an Aztec temple that was discovered. They made it their lives mission to recover all they could about the cultures the Spanish destroyed when they came across the ocean. He went into the business after them, becoming a curator at a museum in Rio to make sure all things recovered were authenticated, cleaned, and either kept in Rio or sent somewhere else for the price they were really worth and not some cheap price the museums kept trying to give him. It was amazing watching him work. In his own words he was ‘a dog after a bone’ when he latched on to a project.”

Scott smiled. “He sounds amazing.”

Cora nodded. “He was.”

“What happened? If you don’t mind me asking.” Scott added hurriedly.

Cora shook her head. “I don’t mind.” She sighed again, obviously holding back tears. There was a pack of rogue, violent wolves in the Amazon near a recently discovered temple. He went out with his team to look at it, determine its age, purpose, and the people that built it. All standard stuff. But they saw him and his team as a threat. So they attacked.”

“I’m sorry.” Scott whispered.

“I am too.” Cora closed her eyes and bent her head, a tear running down her cheek. “The worst part was knowing it wasn’t a quick death. For any of them.”

Scott reached out and put an arm around Cora, pulling the girl against his side. He was slightly scared that she’d reject the contact but she didn’t. Instead she just relaxed into his side, putting her head on his shoulder.

“I felt it when he died.” Cora whispered. “It hurt more than anything I’d ever felt before. Even the fire hurt less than that.”

“I’m sorry.” Scott repeated, wrapping his arms around her. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Cora whispered. “It’s been three years. The pain hurts less now.”

“But it doesn’t heal?”

Cora shook her head. “Pain like that doesn’t heal. Not completely.”

“So Derek won’t be okay?”

Cora shrugged. “Everyone’s different. But my best guess would be no. Derek’s gone through a lot of shit. He still blames himself for Paige, even after all these years and seeing her ghost, who forgave him. And he still hates himself for falling for Kate and the fire despite the fact that if she hadn’t she just would’ve figured out a different way to do it. And of course there’s Jennifer using a _spell_ to make him love her so she could control him. He hasn’t had the best luck with relationships even before this so he won’t just bounce back from this. He has the idea in his head that everyone he loves dies. And it’s not true because I’m still here and I’ve loved him longer than anyone here.”

“None of it was his fault.” Scott whispered. “And neither was this.”

“He’ll blame himself. He always does.”

Scott sighed. “What do we do to help him?”

“Love him.” Cora answered firmly. “Show him that we don’t blame him. Support him.”

Scott nodded. “Okay.”

Cora closed her eyes, letting her body fall heavily against Scott’s, relaxing into her alpha’s hold.

Neither one of them said anything for the longest time.

“I’m gonna miss him.” Cora finally said.

Scott nodded. “We all will.”

“Unca Scott?” A tiny voice said from the balcony door.

Scott let go of Cora to turn to the voice, seeing two kids standing there, rubbing their eyes. “Hey there cubs.” Scott whispered. “Come here.”

The little boy and girl ran over, the girl scrambling onto Scott’s lap and the climbed more calmly into Cora’s lap where they sat on the thick ledge of the balcony.

“Hold on tight to us.” Scott reminded the kids.

They both nodded, grabbing the shirts of the wolf they were sitting on so they didn’t accidently fall off.

“Why are you up little ones?” Cora asked softly.

“Papa didn’t come say goodnight.” The boy whispered. “Daddy came but Papa didn’t.”

“And Daddy smelled sad.” The girl declared quietly. “ _Really_ sad.”

The boy nodded in agreement.

Scott smiled sadly, his heart breaking a little at the whiskey eyes staring at him. “Well cubs, Papa won’t be coming home.”

“Why not?” The girl demanded. “He promised he would!”

“Sometimes promises can’t be kept Claudia.” Cora said softly.

“And Papa couldn’t keep this one?” The boy asked.

“That’s right Vern.” Scott confirmed.

“Why not?” Claudia asked. “Why can’t Papa come home?”

Scott and Cora looked at each other, silently deciding that they would deal with this conversation so Derek didn’t have to.

“Well cubs.” Scott started. “Not everyone in this world is as good and nice as Daddy and Papa. Some people in the world are very bad people…”

 

An hour later, Scott looked up from the two kids on the couch to see Derek standing at the bottom of the stares.

“Hey.” Scott whispered. “How are you doing?”

“I keep seeing him.” Derek whispered.

Scott nodded. “It gets better.”

“How soon?”

Scott shrugged. “Eventually.”

“Was it this bad with Allison?”

Scott shook his head. “She and I weren’t married with kids.”

“Great.” Derek muttered.

“You’ll do great.” Scott told him. “Claudia and Vernon will both be there for you. And don’t worry about telling them, Cora and I explained that he wasn’t coming home.”

“Thank you.” Derek sighed. “I was terrified of how I was going to tell them.”

“They need you just as much as you need them.” Scott told him. “Don’t go vanishing again.”

Derek nodded. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Good.” Scott smiled. “Then come over here and get your daughter off my leg, I lost feeling about twenty minutes ago.”

Derek smiled a little and Scott counted it a win. It was going to be hard on all of them for a little while with the ‘Pack Mom’ gone, but they’d survive. They’ve gone on this long. They can do it. It’ll hurt like hell for a long time. But they can make it. They can, and they will, carry on.

**Author's Note:**

> And yes I headcanoned that Sterek's kids are named Claudia and Vernon sue me.  
> If you want to prompt or request something for future days I'm over on [tumblr](http://perfectalphadouchebag.tumblr.com/) and open to listen:)


End file.
